Police Investigation into migrant effigy bonfire

A loyalist bonfire that featured effigies of refugees sitting in a boat is being treated as a hate incident by Northern Ireland police.

- Rory Carroll

Crowds in Moygashel, a village in County Tyrone, cheered on Thursday night when the pyre was lit and flames engulfed the vessel and a dozen dark-skinned, lifesize mannequins in lifejackets.

Placards beneath the boat stated "stop the boats" and "veterans before refugees". An Ireland flag was also burnt in the bonfire, which was part of wider loyalist commemorations.

In a statement hours before the pyre was lit, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said it was investigating it as a hate incident.

Politicians had condemned the stunt as hateful and racist and called for the effigies to be removed or the entire bonfire to be dismantled.